


Dots

by Killer_Queen



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Injury, Loki Hurt, Loki bleeding, Loki dying, Loki injured, Near Death, Rescue Mission, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-27 04:32:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18296912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Killer_Queen/pseuds/Killer_Queen
Summary: This mission was tough. Tougher than usual. The Avengers teamed up with SHIELD to save the day, working in shifts almost like a normal job. Steve couldn’t wait to get a rest...Loki was hurt, badly, and it was up to Steve to save him.





	Dots

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fanfic that’s been mulling around my brain for a while. Just one chapter.

Steve was happy that he was about to get a rest. Working on a mission with SHIELD, they were working on shifts of six hours. Tony would go out to scout the area and clean up the villains once he returned to the base camp. Then he could sleep, or at least have a decent meal. Maybe have a chat with Loki or Clint, who were also due to return. He smiled. Yes, a rest would be good. Base camp wasn’t far now...

“Sorry, Captain, no break for you. You’re going out again.” Said Fury the moment he returned, just as he slid off his backpack.  
“Why? What’s going on?” He asked a bit wearily.   
“Loki hasn’t come back.” Fury explained, grim as he always was.  
“He could be caught up. There’s still a few minutes for him to come back.” Steve argued, looking at the clock sitting on a nearby table. Fury shook his head and walked away, gesturing for him to follow. They stopped in front of a beeping monitor. Steve recognised it as a map with GPS tracking, a map of the battle ground. Fury pointed at a blue dot near the base camp.   
“That dot’s you, Captain.” He said. Then he pointed at another dot, a green one, in the far corner of the map.   
“That’s Loki. See how his dot’s not moving? He hasn’t moved for an hour and he’s not responding to his radio. Either he’s somehow managed to fall asleep, or-” He began.   
“He’s hurt.” Steve finished, gulping. Fury nodded.  
“You need to go out and find him.”  
“There could be other reasons....his tracker or radio could be broken....”   
“Or he could be dead. Go and find him, Rogers.”

Steve was running, but cautiously. He had a small monitor strapped to his wrist now, and could see the different coloured dots. The purple one near the base camp meant that Clint, unlike Loki, had returned safely to rest. The red and orange ones that represented Tony and Natasha were moving slowly on opposite sides of the battlefield. Thor was off on some adventure, exploring the cosmos, so there was no dot to show where he was. A dull brown dot near the medical base showed that Bruce, in his full glory as doctor and not green Goliath, hadn’t moved from his safe post as emergency medical support. His own blue dot moved slowly but steadily as he ran across the rugged terrain, being careful to hide if he sensed the danger of the enemy. The green dot in the corner still hadn’t moved. He pleaded silently for Loki to be okay. He had to be. If he wasn’t, if he was terribly hurt or dead.....Steve would never forgive himself for dawdling at the camp. He switched off the monitor and focused more on navigating his way around the unforgiving landscape. Everything unnerved him in the darkness, every moving leaf seemingly a murderer. He heard a rustle and dove instinctively into bush, staying silent. He soon realised that it wasn’t just another false alarm. There WAS someone there! He could hear their footsteps, cautious and near silent. He betrayed himself by letting out a sound as he readied his shield to defend. He heard a gun being loaded, felt the bushes being swept aside-  
“Steve! What are you doing?” Natasha asked, her gun inches from his chest, her body still poised to attack the potential enemy that had turned out to be a friend.  
“Looking for Loki.” Steve said, a slight stammer in his voice as his heart pounded. He was still a little frightened that Natasha would shoot him, despite her being ever so skilful with the trigger. Natasha gave him a look of mock surprise that told him that she thought he was jeopardising the mission. She swept her hands around the bush.  
“Well, Loki doesn’t seem to be in this particular bush. Why don’t you try that one over there?” She asked, pointing in a random direction, her face dead set.  
“He’s hurt.” Steve said, sure it was true as soon as he said it. Natasha’s previously unimpressed and stern face rippled with a little.....was it concern? Fear? Something like that.  
“I’ll help you look.” She said. Steve pulled himself up, shaking his head.  
“Fury will blow his top if I distract his top agent from her mission.” He said.   
“If Loki needs help-”  
“Then he’ll be in safe hands. My hands. Soldiers don’t leave their own behind.”  
Not true. He’d been forced to leave soldiers behind before, but Loki wasn’t going to be one of them.

Steve stumbled, looking. His blue dot was nearly overlapping Loki’s green one now. He should have been able to see him, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t just for the darkness.....he saw nothing that resembled a man....or a body. The steady bang of explosives and gunfire around him but a bit distant told him that his other friends were still finding and fighting enemies. It really was like the war......wait, what was that? Sticking out of the bushes? A strange pair of long logs, narrow and covered in.....cloth. Not logs. Legs. He’d seen those legs before. They were Loki’s. Forgetting all security, he ran over. The rest of Loki still seemed to be attached to the legs, which was a relief he didn’t want to admit. But his troubles were far, far from over.   
Loki’s chest was soaked with blood, his shirt torn. There was slash across it, from a blade or from being hit by an explosion. How long had he been lying there? Steve tried to do the math. An hour before he got to the base camp....and hour and a half to get to him....two and a half hours or more lying there with critical wounds. Steve knew that any normal guy would be dead already. Luckily, Loki wasn’t a normal guy. He had special healing......obviously something that made him bleed slower. But it was bad. Bad. Bad with a capital “B” and extra bad on top. Steve snapped out of his trance. Where was his med kit!? He should have brought it, knowing the risks.......he found it in his backpack, thankfully not forgotten. Bandages.....yes, he needed bandages. Loki’s shirt wouldn’t be enough....it was thin and shredded. Steve pulled it away, revealing the entirety of pale skin and red blood that was Loki’s torso. Wrap the bandages....wrap, wrap, wrap.....

“Director Fury, this is Rogers, come in Director.” He said over the radio twenty minutes later.  
“Rogers, I hear you. The GPS says you’ve found Loki. What’s the status?” Fury responded.  
“Loki’s hurt. Badly. He’s suffering from blood loss from a slash in his chest and it’s not going to get better any time soon. He’s unconscious and there’s no hope of getting him to move by himself. I need you to send medical help, by air if possible.”  
“Rogers, I’m looking at the map....and I don’t think any aircraft will be able to reach you.”  
Steve looked up at the dense covering of trees and high rocks around him.  
“You’ll need move about a mile and a half north. Aircraft will be able to reach you there.” Fury continued.  
“What about Loki?”  
“You’ll have to carry him that distance. There’s nothing else I can do unless you can do that. Can you do that, Rogers? Can you move Loki a mile and a half to your north?”  
Steve looked at Loki, looking too fragile and too tall to be carried. He thought of the suddenly impossible distance of a mile and a half.  
“Yes, I can move him.”

Steve tried carrying him over his shoulder at first, but he was too tall and Steve knew that he was at terrible risk of hurting him more. There was only one thing for it. Bride style. It was impractical, Loki’s legs still nearly hitting the ground, but at least it would keep him safer in the long run. He also realised how light Loki was. That worried him, but he had bigger problems at that moment. He had to focus on getting help. Making progress seemed impossible, him staggering as he tried not to overbalance or trip over, going slowly and wasting time he knew he didn’t have, time he knew Loki didn’t have. Every second passing was another second gone, seconds counting down until Loki’s time ran out. Steve nearly tripped on a rock. He caught himself but stumbled, sending Loki flying onto the hard ground. He flinched.  
“Sorry, Loki.” He muttered as he picked him up again. He didn’t like the silence on Loki’s part. Even curse words and slippery insults would be better than this unnatural silence. He should have accepted Natasha’s help. He realised that now. He’d been too proud, too much like a soldier. Too determined that he could do it himself. He’d put Loki at risk by denying Natasha. Wait, what was that-  
The explosion boomed, and he couldn’t reach his shield because his arms were full. He went flying.   
He woke inside what he decided was a crevice of rocks, probably created by more explosions. He wriggled a bit and groaned, but he didn’t seem to be badly hurt. But he realised he was stuck, rocks wedging him in. Where was Loki!? Was he okay? How long had he been unconscious? He struggled and brought his wrist to his face. The coloured dots were still there. His blue dot was stationary, as was the green dot nearly overlapping......Loki was still nearby. The red and orange dots weren’t all that far....  
“Natasha, I could really, really use that help now.” He said as he managed to press his radio. It crackled into life.  
“Steve? What happened? Are you okay?” Natasha’s voice wobbled.   
“No, I’m not okay. I’m stuck and I’ve lost sight of Loki. He’s injured badly.”  
Natasha hung up.

Natasha looked at the dots, blue and green. They were so close to each other......who should she help first? Loki. Steve had seemed fairly okay on the radio. Loki was hurt. Loki needed her help more. But where was he......dust from a recent explosion was settling ahead. Rubble was sitting on top of something......A body....or Loki.  
She gasped at the bloodied bandages on Loki’s chest, gulped at the scratches on his face. Sighed when she saw that he was somehow still breathing. Were the scratches from the recent explosion or were they from the initial injury? She didn’t know and she didn’t care. She needed to move him.....she was sure it wasn’t far to a place where aircraft could get through. Loki made a small noise as she moved him. A groan. His eyelids flickered and opened halfway. He tried to speak, but only tangled noises of a dry throat and pain came out.  
“Shhhh.” She soothed as she gave up trying to move him. He tried to speak again, but she still couldn’t make sense of him.  
“You’re hurt, Loki.....in case you didn’t notice. Steve tried to move you to safety but he’s in a bit of trouble just now. Stay still. You’re going to be okay.” She whispered, her voice shaking. Loki’s left arm moved. His hand struggled to lift off the ground, but managed to clamp around her wrist. He looked right at her, all hope gone from his eyes. Natasha had seen the movies. She knew this scene.  
“No, Loki! You are not dying! That’s an order! You are going to live! Do you hear me, Loki!? You are not dying now!” She said loudly. Something in the dead eyes flickered....the sparkle she knew and loved. A small smile formed on Loki’s dry and cracked lips.   
“See? Just hold on a little longer.”  
She tried to move him. He cried out.....a clear noise this time at least, but one of agony. She stopped. She couldn’t move him. 

“Hold still, Cap, I’m getting you out of here.” Tony muttered. Moving rocks wasn’t something he’d designed his suit to do, but it did it just fine...it made him strong enough to lift away the thankfully small boulders piled on top of Steve.   
“Hurry up, Tony.” Steve urged.  
“Why? Are you hurt?”  
“No, but Loki is and I need-”  
“Calm down. Natasha will find Loki. You know she will.”

The two of them found Loki lying across Natasha’s lap. He was still. Very still.  
“Natasha...he’s not...” Tony asked as they grew nearer, feeling his voice shake. Steve started running over, only a little sore from the rocks.  
“He’s....he’s okay. Alive. He was awake a few minutes ago but....” Natasha murmured, feeling her confidence slide away. She thought of how pale Loki had become as he cried out in pain, how limp his body had gone in her arms. She hadn’t liked it. Loki was usually full of life and charm. Seeing him injured, bleeding and limp was just....wrong. Steve reached down. He was going to move him...  
“Careful.” She breathed as Loki was lifted away from her. Steve swept him into a bridal carry. He looked at his face.  
“He’s worse than before.” He fretted.  
“Don’t think about it. Just move.” Tony urged. Steve started walking, slowly. Tony walked beside him, and Natasha a little behind. There would be no more splitting up. The Avengers were a team. They helped each other, protected each other. The enemy was still out there....but that could wait. Loki came first. 

Bruce was startled out of his almost-asleep trance as something came rushing into the medical tent. He jumped up, looking around wildly. Clint was already bossing everyone around.  
“I need a medical squad in the transport jet right now!” He near shouted. The surprised medics mulled around like sheep, reaching for their bags and gloves.  
“Meet me at the take off strip in five minutes!” Clint yelled as they ran out of the tent. Clint swung a bag over his shoulder, full of....arrows. Did Clint go anywhere without ammo these days? Bruce was...confused.  
“Clint, what’s going on-” He began.  
“You’re going on the jet too. Fury’s orders.” Clint murmured.  
“What’s going on?” Bruce repeated.  
“Loki’s hurt and the others need us there as soon as possible.”  
Bruce could only run after him.

Fury stood next to the jet as the medical team loaded in.  
“Director Fury, wouldn’t it be better if I stayed here in case I.....get angry on the plane?” Bruce asked, knowing how horrible a hulk-out midair would be.  
“Negative, Banner. I need you on that plane more than anyone else.”  
“Why?”  
“Loki knows you. If he wakes up, I’d like to think that he’d prefer to have you poking and prodding him to a complete stranger poking and prodding him. We both know what Loki can do if he.....goes wild.”  
Bruce knew what Loki could do only too well. He secretly wondered if Fury did want Hulk on the plane. He’d beaten Loki to pieces once....he could do it again. But Loki was a friend now.

Bruce would never forget it, though he wished hard and wholly that he could. But he wouldn’t forget it. He would never forget seeing Loki brought onto the plane on a stretcher, shirtless and covered in bloodstained bandages. He would never forget the slight film of dust over Loki’s clothes, making him look like an old Halloween decoration pulled from the attic. And he would never, ever forget the feeling he got when he saw him, the feeling of helplessness. He was sure he was going to lose his patient....

But Loki pulled through, stubborn as ever. His green dot lived to move around the map another day.


End file.
